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World War II apology stirs up new discussion in Japan

FILE - In this April 25, 2007 file photo, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono look at a tree during a tree planting ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the constitution of Japan that went into effect in 1947 at the Constitutional Government Memorial Hall in Tokyo. Retired politician Kono, who played a major role in the early 1990s helping Japan confront its wartime past and establish warmer ties with its Asian neighbors during years leading up to the milestone 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, said Abe?s suggestion he wants to revise two apologies - including a 1995 statement expressing regret for Japan?s wartime aggression and commitment to peace - risks setting back by decades relations with China and South Korea, in an interview on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File)

In this Tuesday, June. 25, 2013 photo, retired politician Yohei Kono smiles during an interview at his office in Tokyo. Kono, who played a major role in the early 1990s helping Japan confront its wartime past and establish warmer ties with its Asian neighbors during years leading up to the milestone 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?s suggestion he wants to revise two apologies - including a 1995 statement expressing regret for Japan?s wartime aggression and commitment to peace - risks setting back by decades relations with China and South Korea. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

In this Tuesday, June. 25, 2013 photo, retired politician Yohei Kono speaks during an interview at his office in Tokyo. Kono, who played a major role in the early 1990s helping Japan confront its wartime past and establish warmer ties with its Asian neighbors during years leading up to the milestone 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?s suggestion he wants to revise two apologies - including a 1995 statement expressing regret for Japan?s wartime aggression and commitment to peace - risks setting back by decades relations with China and South Korea. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

FILE - In this Thursday, July 12, 2012 file photo, North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun, center, leaves after the 19th ASEAN Regional Forum Retreat in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it. North Korea is expected to send its longtime foreign minister, 80-year-old Pak Ui Chun, to the meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, according to South Korea?s Foreign Ministry. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2012 file photo released by Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launch pad in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it. (AP Photo/KCNA, File)

FILE - In this Friday, April 12, 2013 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se during a joint press conference at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea. The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it. Kerry, Yun and their counterparts from China and Japan will attend the forum and could hold private meetings that touch on Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2008 file image from television North Korean workers operate equipment at North Korea's main nuclear reactor in Nyongbyon, also known as Yongbyon. The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it. North Korea has sought negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea but has ignored their demands that it first honor prior commitments to move toward nuclear disarmament. (AP Photo/AP Video, File)